4,000-Year-Old Iraqi Artifacts Rescued

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Iraqi Police, HO)

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Iraqi Police, HO)

Photos released by the Iraqi Police show some of the artifacts seized, which were discovered hidden near a shrine, in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The police seized the small cache of ancient statues and other artifacts, officials said, as authorities investigate the possible smuggling of the statues and shards with writing on them dating back to the ancient Sumerian civilization, which is more than 4,000-years old. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)